The X Games staff announced the X Games 18 Enduro X qualification process and pre-qualified riders a few weeks ago, and now five more riders have earned invitations. For both the male and female riders, the top two nonqualified finishers at the opening round of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series in Las Vegas on May 4 would earn spots. Those riders are as follows:

Men’s Enduro X, top two finishing riders who were not already prequalified

Cory Graffunder (Canada)
Max Gerston (USA)

Women’s Enduro X, top two finishing riders who were not already prequalified

Louise Forsley (USA)
Chantelle Bykerk (Canada)

The X Games competition staff also extends “Wild Card” invitations to top racers from around the world, and there is perhaps no rider more deserving of this than 18-year-old Steward Baylor. The South Carolina resident won the 2011 Grand National Cross Country Series XC 2 Pro-class Championship and has won five of the first six races in 2012. On top of that, Baylor has won four out of five rounds thus far in the AMA National Enduro Championship, against a strong field of Pro riders. Based on these results, Baylor has been invited to his first X Games Enduro X.

South Carolinian Steward Baylor (36A) is going to the X Games as a Wild Card. Photo courtesy of Digital Offroad

“The X Games is an amazing opportunity for these top racers to show off their skills in front of a huge live and television audience,” stated Eric Peronnard, the creator of EnduroCross and X Games Enduro X Sports organizer. “I especially enjoy seeing the young or relatively unknown riders get introduced to the world.”

If you want to see the riders who will be mixing it up at X Games 18, you can go to the Staples Center on Sunday, July 1, or catch many of those same riders at any of the other seven GEICO AMA EnduroCross events in 2012.

Round two of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, will take place on Saturday, June 9, in the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California. It will be the series’ first-ever visit to Northern California and the last chance for nonqualified riders to earn a coveted X Games invitation.

Colton Haaker (10) will be leading the points coming into the Sacramento round of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series. Photo by Drew Ruiz

Northern California is a hotbed for off-road motorcycles, and the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club, which does an amazing job of promoting the opening round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown, will be helping the EnduroCross team make this first visit to Nor Cal a big success by providing insight on the area and getting members involved with the event.

“The Hangtown Motocross shows that Northern California has a lot of passionate race fans, so we are really excited about filling up the Power Balance Pavilion and putting on a great show with EnduroCross,” stated Mike Karsting, VP of events at Source Interlink. “The Dirt Diggers North team, along with several local Kawasaki dealerships, have been really enthusiastic about helping to make sure that the first EnduroCross in the area is a big success, so we really want to thank those people for getting involved.”

Dealers

The following local Kawasaki dealers will be selling tickets and have displays at the Sacramento EnduroCross:

The X Games event will air on ESPN networks and the remaining GEICO AMA EnduroCross events will be aired on the “Lucas Motorsports Hour” on the NBC Sports Network. Check your local listing or www.motorsportshour.com. The Sacramento round is scheduled to air on Saturday, July 8, at 5 p.m. EST.

About EnduroCross

EnduroCross tracks incorporate various elements of extreme off-road racing into a Supercross-style setting, including rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, a water hole… and even a few special obstacles like giant tires thrown in! Known as the “toughest racing on two wheels,” this indoor off-road racing will certainly keep you on your feet. For the seven EnduroCross events, be sure to log on to www.motorsportshour.com for local air dates and times for the “Lucas Motorsports Hour” on the Versus network.